(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report a woman from Bondurant was sentenced July 2nd, following her plea of guilty to Tampering with Records (an Aggravated Misdemeanor). 39-year-old Sarah Rahm received a deferred sentence and was placed on probation for a period of two years. Rahm was also ordered to pay a civil penalty of $855.

The investigation began in March 2024 after the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau received information indicating Rahm made willful misrepresentations regarding her pet’s medical history and then falsified the onset date of a claimed medical condition in connection with an insurance claim.

Sarah Rahm (Photo courtesy of the Polk County Jail)

The investigation concluded that Rahm was aware of her pet’s medical condition before purchasing a pet insurance policy, which required a five-day waiting period for accidents. On the sixth day after the policy commenced, Rahm submitted a claim to the insurance company for the medical condition, misrepresenting the date of injury in an attempt to obtain $593.15 in coverage for a pre-existing condition. Rahm was arrested on May 3, 2024.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa — An Oskaloosa school administrator died earlier this week in an apparent drowning in Lake Michigan.The Mason County, MI, Sheriff’s Office reports 44-year-old Mark Scholes, of Oskaloosa, was seen struggling Tuesday afternoon in the water at Lake Michigan at the Ludington State Park. Authorities say several people entered the water in an effort to assist Scholes, but by the time they reached him, he had already slipped under the surface. The citizens who responded were able to locate the Scholes under the surface and pull him to a raft, and then to shore where CPR was started.

Several people entered the water in an attempt to help him, the sheriff’s office said, and pulled him onto a raft after he slipped under the surface and then to shore, where they performed CPR. Mark Scholes was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Oskaloosa Middle School Principal Mark Scholes (from the school district’s website)

The Oskaloosa Community School District confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Scholes was the district’s middle school principal. Scholes started with the district as an associate principal in 2013. He became principal of the middle school in 2019, according to the district.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa [KCCI-TV] – Eight one-week-old puppies were rescued by the Midlands Humane Society after being found abandoned in a cardboard box near the Wabash Trail in Council Bluffs. KCCI says according to the shelter, a Good Samaritan walking on the trail heard the puppies crying and investigated the “distressing noise.” She took the puppies home to care for them on Tuesday evening before calling Pottawattamie County Animal Control, which then took the puppies to the shelter on Wednesday.

Officials with the Midlands Humane Society said each puppy was evaluated and is in fair to good health. “This was very fortunate,” MHS said in a press release, “as it was uncertain just how long the puppies had been left outside in the elements to fend for themselves with temperatures in the low to mid-80s.” The puppies are in “loving foster homes” and receiving round-the-clock care, the shelter added. They will need to be bottle-fed every two to three hours for now. The puppies, whose breed is unknown at this time, will be available for adoption within the next couple of months.

There is no open investigation into who left the puppies near the trail at this time, according to Midlands Humane Society. Pottawattamie County Animal Control said there is not enough information to open an investigation at this time.

(Radio Iowa) – Spencer officials estimate about 80 percent of the more than five-thousand homes, business and other structures in their city were hit by flooding or backed up sewer water last month. Spencer Mayor Steve Bomgaars says 30 percent of Spencer businesses have been impacted by the disaster. “What we want to do is help our residents get back into their homes, if at all possible, but we also want to retain our small businesses,” Bomgaars says. “We want to help them as much as we can to keep them here.” Bomgaars made his comments late Wednesday after he and about three dozen local leaders met with Governor Kim Reynolds and other state officials to talk about flood recovery concerns.

Spencer is the largest community in Clay County and federal officials say over 15-hundred households in Clay County already have been approved for federal disaster assistance. John Mills, a spokesman for FEMA, says his agency has provided over 16 MILLION dollars to Clay County flood victims. “That’s to help with serious needs, pay for a temporary place to live, for home repairs, for help in replacing personal property that was destroyed,” Mills says. As of today, about 50 people are living in a Red Cross shelter in Spencer. A FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Spencer is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“I’ve visited Spencer a few times since the flooding happened and it’s very clear that for a lot of people this is going to be a challenging recovery,” Mills says. Mills says FEMA staff at the Disaster Recovery Center are able to help residents apply for government assistance and Small Business Administration disaster loans. “FEMA can also make referrals to charities, non-profits and faith-based organizations that are actively working in northwest Iowa right now to help people recover,” Mills says.

Over 50 Clay County residents who had federal flood insurance have already filed claims. Spencer experienced the worst flooding by both the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers since 1953. The waterways converge through the main part of town.

(Reporting by George Bower, KICD, Spencer and Sheila Brumer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – A new report finds nearly a quarter of Iowa workers make less than 17-dollars an hour, what’s considered a living wage. The non-profit Oxfam America says 24-point-2 percent of Iowa workers make less than that wage, which is slightly higher than the national average of 23 percent. Oxfam senior researcher Kaitlin Henderson says the report also found Iowans of color are significantly more likely to earn low wages as compared to national numbers. “The national average, 35% of black women earn low wages. In Iowa, that number jumps up to 47%,” Henderson says. “In national averages, nearly 40% of Latino women earn low wages. In Iowa, we see that number jump up to 45%.”

Henderson says 17-dollars an hour is the living wage needed to afford the basic costs of running a household. “If you’re making less than 17, it becomes increasingly difficult to afford basic costs of living,” she says, “ranging from, of course, childcare, but also things like food, transportation, housing.” Henderson says Iowa hasn’t raised its minimum wage in 15 years. It’s currently $7.25 an hour, which is the minimum wage requirement set by the federal government.

(story contributed by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – City officials in Atlantic are reminding parents of children and others, that lemonade stands are not allowed in the City during RAGBRAI on July 22^nd and 23^rd. Councilman Dana Halder…

Chamber Director Bailey Smith echoed Halder’s comment. According to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIAL), rules regarding food service and licensing for RAGBRAI were placed into effect in 2022. You can find those rules here: RAGBRAI-Temporary-Food-and-Beverage-Guide-2022

Vendors setting up inside city limits are identified as OFFICIAL RAGBRAI VENDORS by a sign or a permit posted in their booth. Other information can be found HERE.

On a separate note, Councilman Jim Behrens brought to the Mayor’s attention an increasing number of illegal signs being posted around town and on light/power poles, with regard to garage and yard sales, along with other types of signs in the City right-of-way and properties. That is not allowed under City Ordinance.

Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett reminds citizens that they are not to post garage and or yard sales signs in the City right-of-ways or on public property.

The Mayor also reminded those who operate a commercial tree trimming business, about an ordinance requiring a permit for that type of work in Atlantic.

Tree trimmers are also required to have insurance. The City, Mayor Garrett said, has a running list of permitted tree trimmers. And, City Administrator John Lund, during Wednesday’s City Council meeting in Atlantic, addressed some rumors he’s heard with regard to an $800,000 discrepancy in the City’s budget estimates.

Lund said once the actual budget estimates are printed out they’ll be looked at with a fine tooth comb and reclassified as needed. Those numbers he assured the Council “Will look good.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Vision Atlantic report First Whitney Bank & Trust is leading donation efforts for Vision Atlantic’s transformative project, by donating  $2.5 million towards efforts to bring a housing development, new childcare center, and YMCA expansion to Atlantic. Vision Atlantic President Christina Bateman said “We are so grateful to First Whitney Bank & Trust’s incredible support of this project from the beginning. They stepped up before we even knew if this project could happen, and their remarkable donation got this project out of the “idea” stage and into reality. We’re blessed to have them in our community and look forward to seeing their gift being felt for generations to come.” First Whitney Bank & Trust has been a supporter of the project since the beginning and were the first individuals to pledge monetary support to the project.

Paul Gude, President and CEO of First Whitney Bank said “This project changes the conversation on the future of Atlantic from surviving to thriving. Whitney Bank has been a leader in community development, and we see first-hand the needs of our community. We jumped at the chance to be a big part of this life-changing project. It is my hope that we can make Atlantic the jewel of Western Iowa for generations to come.”

Vision Atlantic, through extensive research and surveying of the community and surrounding region, identified three areas that will help increase Atlantic’s population: expanded childcare, quality housing and quality of life amenities. Bid letting for land infrastructure will begin late this summer, with construction of all three projects slated to begin late spring of 2025.

With substantial monetary support from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and local donors, $16.4 million has been raised in the past six months, over 50% of a $30 million goal. Vision Atlantic’s Project Committee is actively working to secure the remaining $14 million needed to meet the fundraising goal. If you are interested in helping transform Atlantic, whether it’s through monetary donations or acts of volunteerism, please contact Vision Atlantic at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com. You can also follow Vision Atlantic on Facebook, for behind-the-scenes access to project updates.

Vision Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower growth, enhance lives, and build a thriving community together through the economic development of Atlantic, Iowa.

(Ames, Iowa)  – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the City of Audubon has agreed to pay an $8,000 fine for repeatedly expelling too much ammonia nitrogen in its wastewater that flows to the East Nishnabotna River. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports, according to a recent DNR order, Audubon violated its ammonia limits in nearly every month of 2021 and 2022 and in several months of 2023.

Elevated levels of ammonia can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life and can deplete oxygen in water. The city has said its pollution woes were the result of large amounts of contaminants from a truck stop that pipes its wastewater to the city’s treatment facility. Waspy’s Truck Stop opened about six years ago and has a truck wash that is used to clean the insides of animal trailers. That debris was believed to be the source of the excessive ammonia levels in Audubon’s treated wastewater. The DNR also fined Waspy’s $8,000 this year and said it had violated its pollutant limits — for ammonia nitrogen, waste solids, oil and grease — more than 500 times.

The truck stop has installed barriers to collect the manure and help prevent it from being discharged to the treatment facility. Audubon’s public works director was not immediately available to comment for this article, but he has said the situation was improving. The DNR order noted that Audubon was warned multiple times that it was exceeding its contaminant limits but that it failed to expeditiously remedy the problem.

Wastewater from Audubon flows into a creek that goes to the East Nishnabotna River. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Treated wastewater from the city flows through a creek to the East Nishnabotna, which was polluted downstream in March by a large fertilizer spill near Red Oak. The spill killed nearly all the fish and other aquatic life in about 60 miles of the East Nishnabotna and Nishnabotna rivers.

(Des Moines, Iowa -via the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed a brief in federal court on behalf of 14 states defending an Arkansas law that prevents “indoctrination in K-12 schools.” A federal district court ruled the state could not prevent two teachers from discussing the ideas of critical race theory – a primarily collegiate academic theory that asserts racism was embedded in the nation’s institutions upon its founding – in class. The ruling did not outright block the state from enforcing the law.

The teachers, as well as two students who sued alongside the teachers, asserted that the law’s vague definition of critical race theory forced teachers to self-censor over fears of violating state law. The state appealed the district court decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit which is where Bird filed her brief, which is co-signed by the attorneys general for Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. “If allowed to stand, the district court’s decision threatens to wreak havoc on States’ ability to determine what is taught in their schools,” the brief reads.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird speaking to reporters during a news conference in her Des Moines office. (RI file photo)

At the heart of the attorneys general disagreement with the previous ruling is the court’s interpretation of Pratt v. Independent School District where a student successfully challenged a school board banning a film that it religiously and ideologically opposed. Bird and others argue the First Amendment is designed to prevent the government from censoring others and not itself, but that rulings like the one in the Pratt case force the government to self-censor. “If the government is speaking, the public does not have a First Amendment right to control the message. If a private citizen is speaking, the First Amendment prevents the government from controlling the message,” the brief reads. The Pratt decision was also the justification used by a Des Moines judge to block an Iowa book ban as being “staggeringly broad.”

Bird said the Arkansas law prevents schools from indoctrinating students. “As a mom, I know how important it is that we create a healthy culture for our kids to learn and grow,” Bird said in a press release. “And most schools and teachers do an amazing job at that. But when education turns into indoctrination, parents have a right to push back.”

The entire brief can be read here.